…You program Lego Mindstorms robots with software that's available for free from…the Mindstorms website at www.lego.com/mindstorms.…There are versions of the website and all of the documentation for many languages…and there are versions of the programming software for Windows and Mac OS 10.…I'll be using the Mac version.…Like scratch, Android App Inventor and many other products I've shown…in this course, Mindstorms has a block based visual programing environment.…

You connect to the robot with a USB…cable or for more convenience, with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.…Your programs are stored in a proprietary format.…In a file with a file extension of .ev3.…So it's easy to share programs with other robot owners.…Some pre-built programs are available on the website.…You can experiment with those, or jump immediately into building your own.…I'll create a new programming routine by selecting File>New Project.…

Each new routine begins with a start block.…You then attach other blocks to that block…and always finish with a stop program block.…

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Author

Updated

11/10/2014

Released

3/6/2014

Kids are naturally excited about building, whether it's building blocks or building rockets. Programming can be just as much fun. And the skills kids gain programming can help them feel accomplished, while giving them a head start in our fast-paced digital world. This course is designed to help parents and educators introduce programming concepts to kids of all ages, from grammar school to high school. David Gassner starts with a description of different learning styles (auditory, kinesthetic, or visual) and talks about how kids' programming tools appeal to different styles. He then introduces mobile device apps for young programmers that let them animate graphical images using simple block-based programming. For older kids, he introduces software such as Scratch for more advanced animation, MIT App Inventor for programming real Android apps, and tools that teach core languages like JavaScript and Java. The final chapter covers how kids can work with robots and other hardware like the Raspberry Pi, which show how programming can work in the real world.

Topics include:

Understanding your child's learning style

Graphical programming on iPads and computers

Making things move

Learning about algorithms

Programming animations, apps, and games

Learning JavaScript and other core languages

Programming virtual and real robots

Programming hardware: Arduino and Raspberry Pi

Skill Level Beginner

2h 8m

Duration

281,840

Views

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Q: This course was updated on 11/10/2014. What changed?

A: We updated the "Programming Android apps: MIT App Inventor" video to incorporate new device footage, so you can see how the app performs on an Android phone.